Saturday, June 22, 2013

Carol's Legacy

I've already mentioned
that I LOVE vintage quilt tops. Working on them gives me a strong
connection with the original piecer/applique artist that created
them. Unable to finish them, they are often stashed away for later
generations to find. What a joy it is to finish them.

This one is unique in that
the Flying Geese are appliqued rather than pieced – I have not seen
that before. It is completely hand stitched, even the sashing, and in
relatively good condition. I had to reinforce the stitching on the
outer border miters; one was only basted.

In fact, basting stitches
were everywhere. You know how we longarm quilters are always picking
at stray stitches on a top as we work on it. But, I discovered early
on to be careful when removing stitches on this piece. In many cases,
the basting stitches were the only stitches holding a pattern piece
in place. So, I pretty much left them in place and picked only the
loose threads.

Some people feel that
vintage tops should be quilted as closely as can be to the way they
would have been quilted when they were made. This is not as easy as
it sounds. Depending upon their decade, old quilt tops were either
quilted quite openly or very densely. Hand quilting patterns included
recognizable motifs (including stars, flowers and pineapples),
backgrounds filled with crosshatching and borders with cables and
feathers.

But, why stick to that?
Obviously, the future is being laid into this quilt by virtue of the
fact that it is being quilted with a modern machine in the 21st
century. So, why can't the designs have a more modern look as well?
Curling feathers with an edgy feel and modern stippling feel just
right on this piece.

The important thing is to
get it quilted so that it can get itself out of a closet and onto a
bed or quilt rack to be admired and appreciated.

“If you can't be a
highway then be just a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. It
isn't by size that you win or you fail. Be the best of whatever you
are.”